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4 protesters against China’s COVID policy released on bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Officials in Beijing have released four women on bail who were arrested for joining rare nationwide protests in late November against China’s tough anti-coronavirus policies, an activist said.One of the women, former book editor Cao Zhixin, had recorded a video before her detention saying, “If you’re watching this, it means that I have been taken away by the police.”She and her friends Li Yuanjing, Zhai Dengrui and Li Siqi were detained in Beijing in December and accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge often used against dissidents, according to Human Rights Watch.All four were released Thursday on bail, according to a Chinese activist who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of government reprisals.Cao and a group of friends had joined a protest that was part of a burst of nationwide demonstrations against China’s tough “zero COVID” policy, a rare display of direct defiance against the central government, af...

EU lawmakers greenlight migration plan, set clock ticking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers on Thursday approved a series of proposals aimed at ending the yearslong standoff over how best to manage migration, a conundrum that has provoked one of the bloc’s biggest political crises.The proposals — passed in a series of votes by a roughly two-thirds majority — include an emergency plan that would oblige the 27 EU nations to help one of their number should that country’s reception capacities be overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of people hoping to enter.The measures make up the European Parliament’s position for negotiations with the EU member countries and set a clock ticking. The member countries now have a year to finally reform their creaking asylum system before Europe-wide elections are held in May 2024.Should they fail to do so, the project might have to be abandoned or completely overhauled as it’s taken up by the next European Commission — the EU’s executive branch — and the new members of parliament.“If we miss th...

About a dozen freight train cars derail in Blue Island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

BLUE ISLAND, Ill. (AP) — About 15 cars of a freight train derailed Wednesday night just south of Chicago.No injuries or leaks were reported and no hazardous materials were involved in the derailment around 9:30 p.m. in Blue Island, CSX said in a statement.CSX said 13 cars derailed. Blue Island police said one of 15 cars that derailed possibly is a tanker.The cause of the derailment was under investigation. Crews worked Thursday morning to clear the derailed cars. Missing Navy sailor recovered from Lake Michigan in Waukegan Recent derailments across the U.S. have raised concern about rail safety.A March 30 BNSF derailment in southwestern Minnesota forced about 800 people from their homes. Ten cars hauling ethanol were among 23 that came off the tracks.A Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment outside East Palestine, Ohio, released hazardous chemicals that burned. Roughly half the town of about 5,000 people had to evacuate.

SpaceX to make 2nd attempt at launching biggest rocket

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX prepared to launch the biggest and most powerful rocket Thursday, working nonstop after the first shot at a test flight fizzled earlier in the week.The nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship was poised to blast off from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. SpaceX’s Elon Musk gave 50-50 odds of the spacecraft reaching orbit on its debut.None of the rocket will be recovered. Instead, if all goes well, the first-stage booster, dubbed Super Heavy, would drop into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft on top would continue eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans before ditching near Hawaii. The whole flight, if successful, would last just 1 1/2 hours. SpaceX stands down from Starship test flight The company plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.A stuck booster...

SEVERE RISK: large hail, damaging winds possible tonight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Strong to severe storms are possible as early as late this afternoon for parts of Central Texas, with a higher likelihood of storms this evening into tonight.Mainly cloudy skies with pockets of light rain, mist and drizzle are likely from morning through midday. By early afternoon, a few scattered thunderstorms will mix in.By late afternoon and evening, scattered thunderstorms will grow in coverage and intensity. These storms have potential to hold up to egg-size hail and winds in excess of 60+ mph.Slight risk (2 out of 5) for scattered severe storms beginning late Thursday afternoon through midnightPrimary concern during Thursday's severe weather event will be large hailScattered strong to severe storms possible this eveningHeavy downpours may produce 1-3" of welcome rainfall in some areas, including parts of Austin. Cooler weather blows in behind the system on Friday and Saturday, but rain quickly returns for many Saturday evening into Sunday as a separate cold fr...

Cement truck rollover closes Hwy 29 in Liberty Hill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

LIBERTY HILL, Texas (KXAN) -- Traffic in Liberty Hill is being affected after a cement truck rolled over on Highway 29. The road is shut down in the 17000 block of West Hwy 29, west of Liberty Hill, according to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. Real time traffic map WCSO said traffic heading east will need to take CR 264 (which turns into Wilco CR 206), and then CR 201 to CR 200.Traffic heading west will need to divert to CR 200 then CR 201 to CR 206 (which turns into Burnet CR 264). Liberty Hill Independent School District said parents, students and staff should expect delays on the way to school and work. This is a developing story.

David French: Promising signs for free speech on campus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

William Butler Yeats’ “The Second Coming” has been called the most plundered poem in the English language, and it’s easy to see why. The poem, written in the immediate aftermath of World War I and during the height of the Russian Civil War, vividly captures the feeling that events are sliding out of control. Three lines in particular resonate in troubled times. “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold,” writes Yeats. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”When I read these words, dramatic, violent events come first to mind. The Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 is a prime example of the “passionate intensity” of one of the worst movements in American life. With each mass shooting, I think, “Things fall apart.”But there are other ways in which the center finds itself under siege. The extremist attack on free speech (from right and left) degrades American democracy, and that attack is especially acute on college campuses, whether it comes fro...

With upcoming St. Paul restaurant Crasquí, Venezuelan chef Soleil Ramirez plates up her memories

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

Chef Soleil Ramirez stands inside the future home of Crasqui, her new Venezuelan restaurant set to open on the West Side of St. Paul in summer 2023. (Photo courtesy Soleil Ramirez)When chef Soleil Ramirez was growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, she would get tired of eating the same foods over and over. So she started cooking, experimenting.Ramirez’s childhood memories animate the menu at her upcoming restaurant Crasquí, set to open this summer on the West Side of St. Paul, right over the Wabasha Street bridge from downtown. Crasquí will be Ramirez’s second restaurant; the chef, who moved to the U.S. about seven years ago, also runs Arepa Bar at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis.“I always had to create something different,” Ramirez said, while on a volunteer food delivery run for the nonprofit Open Arms of Minnesota. “My mom said, ‘This is your biggest something different!’”The menu is grounded in Venezuelan flavors, but the dishes aren’t necessarily traditional cultural recipes. R...

Driver charged after crash involving Albany Police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The person who crashed into an Albany Police car Wednesday night has been ticketed, according to an emailed statement from city police spokesperson Steve Smith. It happened around 10:30 p.m. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to Smith, the driver was heading south on West Lawrence Street when they ran a stop sign, and t-boned the police car. Two officers were hurt in the crash, and so was the allegedly at-fault driver. All three were hospitalized. The unnamed driver was dealt tickets for failing to yield right of way, failing to stop at a stop sign, and driving an uninspected motor vehicle. An investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: Are you okay with your spouse getting a massage from the opposite sex?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:47 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma came from Robin and it's about massages. Here's her email: Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. Recently, my husband gave me a gift certificate to a spa for a massage because he knows I've been stressed out at work. I thought it was so nice and thoughtful. So yesterday I called to make an appointment with my favorite masseuse, Mark, and my husband got very upset. He didn't know that I usually see a male massage therapist when I went to the spa, and now he's furious. He's even demanding that I change my appointment to a female masseuse or cancel my massage altogether. I refused and tried to explain to him that Mark has always been my massage person and that there is nothing wrong with it. He says it's an insult to him and married women shouldn't be touched by other men, even for a massage. Am I wrong? Do most women stick to female massage therapists? I think it's ...